On 8 December 1991, Boris Yeltsin, Leonid Kravchuk and Stanislav Shushkevich signed the so-called Belavezha Accords. Established in 1922 after the February Revolution, the treaty was endorsed by the presidents of the Russian SFSR, the Ukrainian SSR and the Belarusian SSR, thereby marking the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Twenty-five years after the demise of the Communist utopia, the capital of the now extinguished “Red Empire”, of Bunker 42 in the Garden of Fallen Monuments, still hides corners evocative of its former proletarian grandeur.

Bunker 42

Bunker 42 still lies in the heart of Moscow, alongside the Taganskaya metro station, in building 11 at 5 Kotelnicheski Street, 65 metres underground. Once guarded and maintained by a contingent of over 600 soldiers and officials, Bunker 42 was an ultra-high-security shelter for top-level party members in the event of a nuclear war. It now forms part of the State Central Museum of the Armed Forces. Visitors can tour the endless secret tunnels and see for themselves what was then a sophisticated network of communications, and even venture into Stalin’s study.

The White House of Russia

A privileged witness to the end of the Soviet Union, the White House of Russia was the Communists’ answer to their American counterpart. Designed by Dmitry Chechulin and Pavel Shteller, building work got under way in 1965, but the edifice was not completed until 1981. It then became the seat of the legislative power of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR, effectively the Congress of People’s Deputies of the Russian Federation, until 1991. With his back to its entrance, Boris Yeltsin faced down the Soviet tanks that had rebelled against the then president of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev, an act which marked the beginning of the end of the Communist regime.

All-Russia Exhibition Centre

Presided over by a Vostok R-7 8K72 rocket, what is now a convention centre and amusement park was one of Moscow’s main tourist draws during the Communist era. Built in 1939 as an Agricultural Exhibition, it was gradually transformed into a huge park intended to exalt and glorify the economic, scientific and technological achievements of the various republics making up the Soviet Union.

Stolovaya 57

There are a number of restaurants that relive Soviet cuisine 25 years on. Two classics from that period have survived in the iconic GUM galleries – Festivalnioye Café and Stolovaya 57. Then there are hangouts like Detir Ayka (25 Nikitski Boulevard), featuring a Communist menu with such delicacies as stewed fruit, soups and semolina porridge, washed down with shots of vodka or GlavPivTorg. The locale is housed in the former Transport Ministry building which, apart from providing Communist-style cuisine, features a vast library with the complete works of such illustrious figures as Marx, Engels and Lenin.

The Seven Sisters

These high-rises plot one of the most characteristic flourishes on the Moscow skyline –

Moscow State University, Hotel Ukraina, Kotelnicheskaya Embankment Apartments, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Kudrinskaya Square Building, the Hilton Moscow Leningradskaya Hotel, and the Red Gates Administrative Building. The seven buildings in Russian Baroque and Gothic style would have been eight, had the construction of the originally planned Palace of the Soviets come to fruition. The Seven Sisters were built in the 1940s and 1950s to commemorate the 8th centenary of the founding of Moscow.

Lenin’s Mausoleum

The embalmed body of Vladimir Lenin is kept in Red Square, the site of formidable, solemn Red Army parades. Built on the orders of the Soviet State in 1924 following the death of the father of the Revolution, his tomb was designed by the architect Alexey Shchusev, who was inspired by the Pyramid of Zoser and that of Cyrus the Great in Pasargad. Despite Boris Yeltsin’s attempt at having it closed down, Lenin’s Mausoleum is still open to the public free-of-charge on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Moscow Metro

It provides the best way of moving about the Russian capital on account of its exceptionally low price and high frequency of trains – one every 40 seconds at peak hours. Over and above its efficiency, the Moscow underground is an authentic, highly impressive work of art. Inaugurated in 1935, the first line linked the Sokolniki and Kievskaya stations. For its grandeur and its enduring aesthetic sublimation, it is a veritable palace of the proletariat.

FSB Museum

Officially dubbed the FSB Museum (FSB stands for Federal Security Service), it has nevertheless been known locally as the KGB Museum ever since it opened in 1989. Located in the former seat of the Committee for State Security (KGB) in Lubyanka Square, the exhibition features gadgets associated with espionage that seem to have leaped out of the television series,The Americans,including explosive devices, cameras concealed in beer cans, etc. The FSB Museum transports visitors back to the days of the Cold War and the atmosphere of double agents infiltrated in enemy territory.

Museum of Soviet Arcade Machines

Soviet youths also spent their time playing with gaming machines, although they were of course all Soviet-made and extremely expensive, costing from 2,500 to 4,000 rubles. Espoused by three nostalgics for Communist arcade machines, the Museum of Soviet Arcade Machines brings together such gems from that era as mini-skittles, machines for killing aliens (with a capitalist ideology, I would imagine) and the popular shaibu-shaibu ice-hockey game. A whole journey back in time, before which you need to first change thirty rubles into three of the old Soviet kopeks. The collection keeps growing.

Sculpture Park in Krymsky Val

Colossal statues of the Communist leaders were one of the most characteristic sights in squares and parks in Soviet cities. These massive effigies gradually disappeared from the urban environment with the fall of the USSR in 1991. The endless collection of sculptures eventually found safe haven in the statue park of the Krymsky Val Museum. The catalogue runs into over 700 statues sculpted in stone or bronze, prominent being that of Felix Dzerzhinsky, a monument in honour of the revolutionary of the same name who was the first director of the Cheka. Needless to say, there are several imperial effigies of Lenin and Stalin, oblivious to the passage of time.

Come and discover the surviving vestiges of Communist Moscow – book your Vueling here.

Text by Oriol Rodríguez for Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

Images by Kirill Vinokurov, Dennis Jarvis, David Orban, Rob, Jason Eppink, Helena Volkova

Jazz was of course born in the United States. However, if you care to read the finer print, you will discover that something happened in the 1930s in Europe which was to revolutionise American jazz. In the gypsy camps on the outskirts of Paris – now the city’s 18th arrondissement – the young Django Reinhardt improvised a fusion of swing and traditional Eastern European music on his banjo. He taught himself, paying special attention to finger position, and inadvertently invented jazz manouche or gypsy jazz, a genre which elicits virtuosity in the playing and is pleasant on the ear.

Django lost two fingers on his left hand when his caravan caught fire, prompting him to develop an unusual way of playing the guitar. His original style, agility and speed at producing notes earned him the epithet of “father of gypsy jazz”. Together with the violinist, Stéphane Grappelli, he created the legendary Quintette du Hot Club de France, the first gypsy jazz club.

The Festival Django Reinhardt was first inaugurated a few years after his death. It was held at Samois-sur-Seine, 50 kilometres south of Paris, where he spent his final years and where he is buried. The 38th edition of the festival will be held from 6 to 9 July 2017 and, although last year it had to be moved to the Fontainebleau Chateau gardens – 50 kilometres from Paris and well connected by public transport – the original essence of the festival has survived intact. The venue is a place of pilgrimage for Django devotees and the world’s hub of gypsy jazz. This year’s lineup will see the likes of bassist Avishai Cohen, Cuban pianist Roberto Fonseca, the guitar virtuoso trio of Jean-Luc Ponty, Biréli Lagrène and Kyle Eastwood, Woody Allen’s pet gypsy jazz favourite, Stephane Wrembel and the Django Memories Project, made up of the prestigious musicians who produced the soundtrack of the recently premiered film, Django. But, at this festival the music overspills the stage – artists and devotees from across the globe hold jam sessions all over the fair grounds, beating out gypsy rhythms and reliving Django Reinhardt’s musicality.

If after that “authentic gypsy encampment” you are game for more, we have made the following selection from among the many gypsy jazz clubs Paris has to offer.

La Chope des Puces

This is unquestionably the temple of Django Reinhardt in Paris. The resident guitarist, Ninine Garcia, who hails from one of the top Parisian manouche families, leads the jam session every weekend from 12.30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Located in the Marché aux Puces, guests share a table – to taste traditional French cuisine – in a very squashed vital space, among guitars, violins and photos hanging on the walls recalling the master. Tucked away in the back room is a guitar workshop and a manouche jazz school. A venue that oozes genuine charm! 122 rue des Rosiers, Saint-Ouen

MONK – La Taverne de Cluny

Located in the heart of the Latin Quarter, MONK is a bar devoted to the world of beer. It boasts over 50 types of bottled beer, and 10 types of draught. But La Taverne de Cluny is also a jazz club. Every Thursday and Sunday, the small stage in this typically French bar, with upholstered little tables and chairs, fills up to the sound of top-notch gypsy jazz produced by such reputable artists as Christophe Brunard, Sébastien Giniaux and Samy Daussat, among others. A must-visit spot!  51, rue de la Harpe

Café Artistique l’Apostrophe

This small, cosy musical café located just a few metres from the Canal Saint-Martinin the 10th arrondissement provides live music from Wednesday to Saturday. Over the last four years, the programme has been featuring gypsy jazz concerts from 8.30 p.m. on Fridays. L’Apostrophe has been graced by all the leading lights of the Parisian manouche scene, as well as gypsy jazz guitarists from the United States, Britain and Brazil, among others. Albert Bello, Spain’s top gypsy jazz exponent and the director of Festival Django L’H, the only festival in Spain dedicated to Django Reinhardt, has also performed there. And, the first Thursday of each month sees a jazz jam with the vocals supplied by Barbie Camion. 23 rue de la Grange aux Belles

Aux Petits Joueurs

Aux Petits Joueurs is a restaurant in the 19th arrondissement, a bistro in the purest French style where you can taste salads with hot goat’s-milk cheese, cheese boards, duck confit, tarte tatin and crepes, to name just the ABC of French cuisine. The restaurant features a jazz concert, ranging from Latin music to gypsy jazz, each day of the week except Mondays – when it is closed. The venue has seen performances by the leading figures of this genre, notably Adrien Moignard, Sébastien Giniaux and Pierre Manetti, among many others. Tuesdays and Wednesdays feature jam sessions at which some artists invite others, and it all ends up in a full-blown manouche festival. 59 rue Mouzaïa

Les Idiots

A highly popular micro-bar, among other reasons for their reasonable prices – quite a feat in Paris – and their homemade meals. Located on the Boulevard de Ménilmontant, it is a favourite haunt amongbobos(from “bourgeois, bohemian”). A young, relaxed atmosphere frequented by veritable hordes of guests. The limited capacity does not deter them from hosting jazz sessions, led by guitarist Michael Gimenez and with the participation of various gypsy jazz artists, in a corner of the bar each Monday from 9 p.m. to 11.30 p.m. 115 boulevard de Ménilmontant

Book your Vueling to Paris and get into the swing of the gypsy jazz featured across the city.

Text by Teresa Vallbona

The wildest, most secluded corner in Tenerife, in the north-west tip of the island, is the perfect idyll for a few days’ enjoyment of revitalising contact with nature – cycling excursions on the slopes of Teide, hiking through the humid laurel forests, canoeing under the huge sea cliffs… all this without having to leave this remote and amazing kind of “island within an island”. It even has its own microclimate, in an area which was practically inaccessible until just a few years ago. Here, far from the bustle of everyday life, any outing along the over one hundred kilometres of signposted trails reawakens one’s appetite for the fruit and recipes of a rich, fertile land which treats visitors to fresh scenery at every turn.

Mountain Biking – Pedalling On the Slopes of Mt Teide

The Corona Forestal Nature Park which, as its name suggests, forms a complete ring around the Teide National Park, offers four approved mountain-bike routes. The longest trail is the Ruta Norte (North Route), which covers 85 km on the main track, with another 52 km along side tracks.

Our first cyclotouristic proposal takes in one of its stretches but, in order to get the most out of the experience, the best option is to hire a local guide who will provide you with latest-generation bikes and escort you along the whole route, while pointing out details of the peculiarities of the delicate ecosystems in this rugged, vertical mountain terrain of the Teno massif. He will pick you up at your hotel in a flashy van, driving you up to an altitude of 1,600 metres on the slopes of Mt Teide, so that most of the trail will be downhill.

Forests and Volcanoes

In the vicinity of Montaña del Cascajo – a volcano, needless to say – the scenery is absolutely breathtaking. Hieratic fields of red lava are juxtaposed with lush forests of Canary Island pine, their rough bark bearing tell-tale signs of having suffered the scourges of the odd forest fire. According to Iván Méndez, our guide, these pines are “natural survivors”, as this indigenous variety is fire-resistant.

With hardly any effort we enter the Chinyero Special Nature Reserve, a volcano of black earth which last erupted in 1909, located alongside another volcano which two centuries earlier swept away most of the port of Garachico, a small town situated 8 kilometres away.

A bit further down we enter the underworld of Macaronesic laurisilva, shrouded in a dense cloak of mist. We pedal through a gloomy, watery universe characterised by vegetation similar to what covered much of the earth 65 million years ago, which nowadays is found in but very few isolated spots.

After several forested kilometres we return to civilisation to refuel in a tavern with views where they serve up roast cheese with red mojo and palm syrup, codfish with sweet potato and roast goat meat… delicious!

We reach our hotel with a sweet tang on the palate and not at all tired. We have cycled just 42 km, with a drop of 1,800 metres and a climb of only 200 metres, yet feeling as if we had just discovered a piece of nature brimming with allure. Never before had we seen, felt and breathed in so many different landscapes and microclimates in so few kilometres.

Walking Expeditions – Endless Trails

Thanks to a vast network of signposted footpaths, the Teno Rural Park offers myriad itineraries of all ratings.

If you stay at Buenavista, for instance, there is a nearby access route to the spectacular, heady Bujamé Gorge, namely the PR-TF 58 Camino del Risco, which rises along an old path towards the green meadows of Teno Alto and the hamlet of Los Bailaderos, where you can taste one of the best craft cream cheeses in all of the Canary Islands. The route leads between Roque de Marrubio and Roque de la Cruz, and past the remains of an ancienttagoror,a meeting place for community leaders in the period of the Guanches. Oddly enough, this steep trail is known locally as “the descent of the dead” as, in bygone times and up until the 1970s, it was used to carry the deceased down to Buenavista from Teno Alto, where there is no cemetery. Another tell-tale sign is the Cueva de los Ataúdes (Cave of the Coffins), where you can still see two humble communal caskets – one for adults and another for children – once used for the arduous procession.

Owing to the rugged terrain of the Teno massif, virtually all routes are interconnected, so you can combine different stretches of them to create a personalised itinerary, depending on the time you have available or how far you care to hike. For instance, once in Los Bailaderos, you can continue eastwards along the PR-TF 57 Callejón de Teno as far as Cuevas del Palmar, or else westwards along the PR-TF 51 up to the Punta de Teno lighthouse. It is here, on the westernmost edge of the island, that you can witness an unforgettable sunset, with the cliffs known as Los Gigantes basking in the golden sun.

Canoeing Among Giants

In the time of the Guanches, these 600-metre-high basalt rock faces were known ominously as the “Muralla del Infierno” (Wall of Hell). Today they are called the “Acantilados de Los Gigantes” (Cliffs of the Giants) and the area is preserved as a veritable sanctuary on account of its inaccessibility. It is also the perfect spot for spending the day kayaking, as this stretch of water is permanently sheltered from the prevailing trade winds by the cliff faces, which provide a natural barrier, so that the sea is always calm.

The group outing starts in the Los Gigantes marina. It lasts for two hours and is guided by instructors, who comment on the peculiarities of this amazing spot. The excursion is suitable for people of all ages and no prior experience is required. What’s more, the party is escorted by a tracking boat which is always on hand to provide assistance in the event of any mishap. The kayaks are single- and two-seater beginner canoes which are totally stable and sit-on-top. Details and bookings: Teno Activo.

Trekking, Kayaking & Snorkeling in Crystal-Clear Water

El Eco bay is the ideal spot for swimming and exploring the seabed by skin diving in the crystal-clear water. At the foot of the cliffs, the maximum depth is just 30 metres. The same canoe or kayak excursion can start at Masca beach after walking the 5 kilometres down the gulley of the same name, then paddling back on the return journey as far as Los Gigantes after having visited Barranco Seco bay.

Whale Spotting

Dolphins and even whales can be spotted off the Los Gigantes coast, but in deeper waters. After the kayak outing, the best thing is to board a 36-seater boat which leaves from the same marina. The ride lasts two hours and, on the return trip, the boat weighs anchor for 15 minutes in Masca bay, allowing guests to have their last swim at the foot of the cliffs.

A Chill-out Hotel

The Melià Hacienda del Conde Resort Hotel is also located in this secluded enclave in the north-west of Tenerife. Affording splendid views over the ocean, it is the perfect base camp for spending an active and at once relaxing holiday in the Teno area. Their spacious rooms, swimming pools, spa, refined culinary offerings and adult-only status make this a favourite destination among visitors seeking peace and quiet.

Book your Vueling to Tenerife and venture out across the Teno volcanic massif.

Text by Sergio Fernández Tolosa of Con un par de ruedas

Photos by Sergio Fernández Tolosa and Teno Activo

First, the bad news – Marseille is not Paris. Unlike its long-standing rival, France’s second largest city lacks top-drawer museums, stunning landmarks and hordes of Japanese tourists queueing up outside Louis Vuitton. The good news is that… Marseille is not Paris. Pampered by the Mediterranean, this city of radiant sunlight, with its multicultural population and suburbs in the very heart of the city, is so much of an oddity that it earned itself the nickname Planète Mars.

With one of the largest ports in the Mediterranean, a chaotic urban layout and an abiding reputation for being a decadent capital, Marseille is above all France’s enfant terrible, a noisy, dynamic city full of contrasts, where street hawkers take over the pavements, walls are smothered in graffiti, one’s clothes are impregnated with a brackish odour and the Olympique de Marseille is the mortar that binds it all together.

Apart from the usual tourist destinations, the tables have turned since it was voted European Capital of Culture in 2013. Zaha Hadid, Jean Nouvel and Norman Foster all have their state-of-the-art buildings on the snazzy waterfront esplanade. The bohemian way of life, however, is to be found inland and that is where we are heading. With a map in our pockets, we embark on our alternative, urban bobo tour of the capital of Provence!

At La Friche la Belle de Mai

An erstwhile tobacco factory at the Gare Saint-Charles is Marseille’s liveliest cultural centre. We have come to La Friche! Exhibition areas, artists’ ateliers, theatre, skating ramps and even a nursery rub shoulders here. All in one hybrid amalgam and in constant flux, focused on contemporary creation in a precinct where the communal spirit matches the extensive programme.

The huge roof terrace, which affords spectacular city views, is filled to bursting in summer, as it hosts parties with guest DJs and open-air cinema on Sundays. For the rest of the year the music never stops, while the Cabaret Aléatoire features sessions ranging from rock to hip-hop.

If you need to refuel, head for La Salle des Machines, a café-bookshop where you can have a café au lait while you leaf through a catalogue of the latest shows. But, if you’re actually feeling peckish, Les Grandes Tables is the place to go. Here, the menu changes each day, but they always have the classic steak tartare and Caesar salad. Mondays usher in a market of local produce and, as you well know, French markets are peerless.

Outside, alongside the warehouses and level with passing TGVs, the walls of a city park are daubed in graffiti proclaiming “Skateboarding is not a crime”. Here, skaters spin their tricks, while others play basketball, scale the climbing wall, play in the children’s area or work the land in the community allotment. That’s Marseille – a heterogeneous magma where everyone and everything become fused.

A few metres to the west, among the maze-like streets of La Belle de Mai, stands Le Gyptis Cinéma. Their (original version!) listings are as eclectic as the city itself, featuring thematic film cycles, classics, titles you won’t find on the Internet and children’s movies. The facade is peopled with portraits of neighbourhood characters, the upshot of a communal street-art programme designed to put a face to the locals.

And, with that image fixed in our mind’s eye, we head for Cours Julien, the hardcore urban Marsellais scene.

Around Cours Julien – Street Art & Urban Vibe

Alternative, carefree and colourful, the Cours Ju, as locals call it, is the in district right now. Take the metro to Notre Dame du Mont, although the climb up from the harbour is a heart-stopper. A district of artists, musicians and designers and the bastion of the ultra-modern bobo community (bobo, in French, is a nickname for “bourgeois-bohemian”), the Cours Ju is an endless string of trendy cafés, restaurants of all kinds, vintage stores and streets covered in full-colour graffiti.

The fact is that no other spot in the “Hexagone” can boast such a tour de force of urban art of this calibre. Streets fronts along Rue Vian, Pastoret and Bussy l’Indien are overrun by countless pamphleteering murals of a social nature, with references to pop culture or signs announcing the cafés hidden inside. Street art is clearly part of Marseille’s urban DNA, both rebellious and multicultural, as evinced in their well-known hip-hop – see this fast-paced video set to a local rap rhythm to get the idea.

Against this backdrop, every square metre of what is Marseille’s Kreuzberg is inundated with alternative art galleries, terraces, cafés and stores selling anything from apparel to household goods. The best approach is to venture carefree into the chaotic maze of pedestrian streets and let yourself get carried away by the relaxed atmosphere.

In the Cours itself, the multi-faceted concept store Oogie sells apparel and books, but also serves food and houses a hairdressing salon which hosts DJ parties. Nearby, La Licorne makes soaps using traditional methods and, in the rue Trois Frères Barthélémy, the Brasserie de la Plaine micro-brewery sells craft beer and has a bistro where you can wolf down the market-cuisine formule du jour or menu of the day, which usually consists of a starter, main course and dessert for around €10.

The trendiest spot par excellence is WAAW, on the rue Pastoret. Halfway between a bistro and a cultural centre, WAAW’s activities range from presentations to silk-screen print shops. It is also the best place to make a technical stop, order the dish of the day or stock up for the evening on a pastis or rosé when it’s time for the popular “apéro” – a pre-dinner aperitif.

Night time ushers in drinks and music. Sited in the Place Jean Jaurès, L’Intermédiaire is one of the best venues for live and DJ-set alternative music. Next door is Au Petit Nice, which offers a huge selection of beers in an inner patio where you can while away the hours. And, in La Dame Noir, hipsters queue up to get into the most sought-after club in the area.

As if that weren’t enough, a local producers’ market sets up shop in the Cours Ju every Wednesday morning. Stamp traders get their turn on Sundays, while second-hand books are sold every second Saturday in the month. The Marché de La Plaine, in the Place Jean Jaurès, is a market selling fruit and vegetables, cheese, fish, takeaway food, cheap footwear and accessories of all kinds on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings, while the flower market is held on Wednesdays.

The Cours Ju has a special something which grows on you! Get going and discover cosmopolitan Marseille – book your Vueling here!

Text by Núria Gurina i Puig for Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

Photos by Caroline Dutrey, Coralie Filippini, JeanneMenjoulet&Cie, marcovdz, Pop H